C++ Formatter

Definition of C++ Formatter

C++ formatter is basically a tool or software available in the market to format/ beautify the C++ source code in the desired format. C++ formatter software provides many coding style schemes which help in formatting with the proper indentation of the source code in various styles or according to the specific requirements of the programmer. These code formatters are also known as beautifier tools in the market. Formatting of source code is must as it helps in the easy understanding and improves the bug hunting which in turn saves a lot of time and money.

Need of C++ Formatters in Source Code

Let us understand the need of C++ formatters with the help of an example:

Code:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
intmain()
{
int num1, num2, add;
cout<< "Enter the first integer";
cin>> num1;
cout<< "Enter the second integer";
cin>> num2;
add = num1 + num2;
// Printing the addition result
cout<< "The result is " <<add ;
return 0;
}

The above code is the simple addition of 2 integer numbers. But the way it is written makes it very uneasy or difficult to understand. There is a need for proper indentation, required spaces in the code. Code after ‘{‘ should be written should be indented properly in order to show that the required block of code is a part of it. It should be formatted as given below:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
intmain() {
int num1, num2, add;
cout<< "Enter the first integer";
cin>> num1;
cout<< "Enter the second integer";
cin>> num2;
add = num1 + num2;
// Printing the addition result
cout<< "The result is " << add;
return 0;
}

In real time projects, the code is very lengthy and hence has many functions, methods, specific blocks, loops, nested loops, etc. starting and ending multiple times in the code. Moreover, there are specific teams of developers, testers, and maintenance people working on it accessing the same code. So the code should be written in such a way that it would be clear and easily understandable by everyone.

Types of C++ Formatters

There are a lot of formatters / beautifiers available in the market. Let us understand some of the commonly used formatters in detail:

1. Clang-Format

Clang-format is one of the most popular and commonly used open-source formatters used to format C, C++, and Objective C source code. It automatically formats the C++ code and helps in a better understanding of code. It is programmed in C++ and Python language. In order to format the source code automatically according to Electron C++, we need to run the following command:

clang-format -i file_path.cc

Users can also perform the formatting of code according to the specific requirements (other than the one available by default) by inserting the style in ‘.clang-format’ file or using the option -style = “{key:value, ….}”.

2. Artistic Styler

Artistic Styler is a well known formatter and beautifier used to indent the source code of C, C++, CLI, and Java language. In order to address the issue of many formatters for inserting the spaces in place of tabs (inability to distinguish between tabs and spaces in source code), Artistic Style was developed in April 2013. It is written in C++ language and has the ability to re-indent and re-format the source of various languages properly. It can be used by the programmers/ testers directly as a command line or it can also be included in the existing program’s library. This beautifier is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac as well.

3. PrettyPrinter

Pretty Printers and beautifiers are an essential tool while coding in programming languages like C++. It accepts the source code file and generates the other equivalent code file with proper format and the indentation according to the respective syntax and control statements. The main purpose of PrettyPrinter is the proper indentation of code which helps in revealing the nesting of functions, loops with their proper opening and closing braces. Long lines can be folded in smaller ones using the respective functions which helps in the good readability of code. It helps in revealing many syntactical errors to the programmer.

4. Jindent

Jindent is one of the most powerful and commonly used tools used to beautify the source code of Java, C, and C++ language. It automatically indents the code according to the syntax and correct coding conventions which helps in finding the bugs in the code and saves time. One of the cool features of Jindent is that it provides the plugin for almost all popular IDE’s like Visual Studio, Eclipse, Netbeans, etc so that it can be used easily by the programmers/ testers working on them. It allows its invocation from the shell scripts. Jindent provides support for all the Operating systems is it Windows, Mac, or Linux. It is developed in pure Java language and one needs to have a Java Runtime Environment to work properly on it. Jindent is very user friendly as it provides the GUI so that the user can perform actions like formatting settings, changing the environment variables, etc very easily.

5. Highlighter

It is also one of the most commonly used formatters used to format the source code of C++, Perl, HTML, and some other languages as well. It is very user-friendly and hence pretty simple to use. Users just need to copy the source code in the desired text field, choose the C++ language, and Style dropdown to have the required formatting. It provides other interesting features as well like one can also choose to see the line numbers on the left side of code, can directly insert the source code in the HTML page without adding any external CSS and JavaScript file to it.

Conclusion – C++ Formatter

The above description clearly explains the various formatters/beautifiers available in the market used to format the source code of C++ programs. Proper formatting and indentation is a must while working on real time projects as it helps in a clear understanding of code, finding the bugs and hidden errors easily especially the syntactical ones. It helps the maintenance team also to maintain the code properly and proceed further accordingly.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to C++ Formatter. Here we also discuss the definition and need of c++ formatters along with various types and example. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –

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